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Greece seeking Formula One race near capital

August 7, 2012

Officials in Greece are seeking a Formula One race for that country. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

The government of Greece—the European nation facing the most severe economic challenges—has surprised much of the country’s population by endorsing a plan to stage a Formula One Grand Prix in Piraeus, 10 miles from the capital city of Athens.

Sports minister Konstantinos Cavaras confirmed that the government was supporting an initiative by the municipality of Drapetsona, an area of Piraeus, to create a circuit there, but stopped short of committing the government to any financial input.

“We have to support all projects that market Greece,” he said. “The possibility of having Drapetsona host a Formula One race would be very important for the development of Piraeus.”

Fellow minister Costas Tzavaras added: “The main priority of this government is to create instruments of development. In this critical time for our country, every effort that promotes Greece and attracts international interest is welcome and deserves our support.

“The prospect of holding Formula One races in Drapetsona raises expectations for upgrading our tourism product through the promotion of the historic port of Piraeus and the reformation of the broader region. Such a project would create new jobs and place our country anew on the international stage.”

The project was initiated in June 2011 by a business group in Greece that includes an Athens-based architect who has designed the circuit and its associated infrastructure. Drapetsona is one of many harbor areas of Piraeus, which is the largest port in Europe and the third-largest port in the world, processing both freight and more than 10 million passengers a year.

A formal proposal was lodged with the FIA in November. In May, Despotopoulos, a long-serving member of the World Motor Sport Council, presented FIA president Jean Todt and Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone with details of the proposed venue.

The proposal is for a circuit on 210,000 square meters (about 52 acres) of coastal industrial land at Drapetsona that has been dormant for the past 12 years, having previously housed a cement factory and heating-oil storage tanks. The project includes a 3.23-mile, counter-clockwise road circuit with 13 left-hand turns and 12 right-handers, and with one long straight and a shorter one incorporating the pits. About 70 percent of the track would use existing roadways. Grandstands would hold as many as 130,000 spectators.

A Greek Grand Prix project on an existing circuit in Patras was announced with much fanfare in May 2011, but nothing more has come of that proposal.